No raises for fire union members, Dixon says
Baltimore City fire union members will not receive the pay raise that they'd hoped for, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon announced Thursday. The unions had been unable to negotiate a contract with the city and argued before an arbitrator that they should receive a 2 percent pay increase this year. The arbitrator ruled against the unions. "We not only lost, we got killed," said Capt. Stephan Fugate, the head of the fire officers' union. The city also has asked the fire unions to make current year reductions, and Fugate said that the arbitrator's decision means it is more likely that his union will negotiate those reductions with the city rather then seeking arbitration.
- Annie Linskey
Woman suffers burn injuries in East Baltimore house fire
A woman in her 50s suffered second- and third-degree burns in a house fire Wednesday night in East Baltimore, according to city fire officials. Two others, including a firefighter, were hospitalized for precautionary reasons. The fire started about 11:30 p.m. inside a brick rowhouse in the 4200 block of Sheldon Ave., said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a city fire spokesman. The injured woman was being treated at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, Cartwright said. A firefighter suffered a minor burn to the neck and was also taken to Bayview. The third victim, an unidentified man, told fire investigators that he tried to rescue the woman from the house, and he was taken to Bayview as a precaution, according to Cartwright. Investigators have not determined the cause.
- Brent Jones and Liz F. Kay
UM and UMB boost research grants to over $1 billion
The University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore combined in fiscal 2009 to bring in more than $1 billion in research money for the first time. The $1.04 billion in research money represents a $184 million increase over fiscal 2008. College Park officials noted research on climate change, national security and food safety as major factors in the jump. UMB officials said large grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed the university to expand research on infectious disease, oncology, stem cells and the human genome. "The growth in funds is translating to new jobs on our campus," said UMB President David Ramsay. "That's people who live, work and spend their money here, which generates financial activity to the economy of the state." UMCP President C.D. Mote noted a Sage Policy Group study that says the state receives $8 for every $1 it invests in the university.
- Childs Walker
